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Holly Ann Hughes

Vital Statistics Date Of Birth: January 23, 1974 Age at Time of Disappearance: 7 years old Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'0; 50 pounds Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes. Hughes has a fair complexion. Clothing: Beige bathing suit; blue shorts and beige / brown shoes.

Circumstances of Disappearance Hughes was last seen in the vicinity of Richmond Terrace and Park Avenue in Staten Island, New York at approximately 9:30 PM on July 15, 1981. Her mother sent her to purchase soap at a nearby deli at the time. She has never been seen again.
Andre Rand, a convicted New York murderer and child sex offender, was charged in 2001 with kidnapping Holly Ann. Authorities determined that Rand's aunt lived in the same Port Richmond apartment building where Hughes' family resided in 1981. He reportedly visited his aunt at the complex the day of Hughes' disappearance.
Rand is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence in the 1987 kidnapping of Jennifer Schweiger, a 12-year-old with Down's syndrome. He was also convicted in 1970 of raping a 9-year-old.
On October 19, 2004, a Staten Island jury convicted Andre Rand of first-degree kidnapping in connection with the abduction of Hughes.

Rand has been labeled the Hannibal Lecter of Staten Island, and his lawyer said he can't get a fair trial in the sensational case and wants it moved off the island.

"After two decades, Andre Rand will finally face justice for the abduction of Holly Ann Hughes," said Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

"I am confident that the prosecution will present a strong case to the jury, based on years of evidence and investigation."

The blue-eyed girl was last seen July 15, 1981, after she left a Port Richmond deli.

Even without a body, prosecutors believe they can convict Rand.

In an interview last week, Holly Ann's father, Peter Hughes, said simply, "I've been waiting for an awfully long time."

In a pain-filled voice, the 61-year-old retired dockworker, who still carries a picture of Holly Ann, said he'll never forget "how alive she was and what a beautiful girl she was."

In court documents, the inmate said that Rand told him, "Isn't it funny that me and [Ted] Bundy have a lot in common.

"Bundy likes women and I like children, little kids, and we both use Volkswagens," the suspected serial killer allegedly told the fellow inmate.

While witnesses saw Rand with Holly Ann, and he has admitted speaking with her, he has not admitted he kidnapped her.

Rand, a drifter, was convicted in 1988 of kidnapping Jennifer Schweiger, 12, after her body was found. A deadlocked jury didn't convict him of murder.

He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and is up for parole in 2012. If convicted in the Hughes case, Rand faces a second term of 25 years to life.

Rand is a suspect in the disappearances of three other Staten Islanders. He was convicted in 1970 of sexually abusing a Bronx girl after abducting her.

Trial experts said successfully prosecuting a case without a body is not an impossible task.

"It's a classic circumstantial case," said Eugene O'Donnell, a former prosecutor and professor at Manhattan's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "The jury is going to have to say, 'What do we really think happened in this case, and is it beyond a reasonable doubt?' "

Defense attorneys said Rand is innocent and that this case rests on witnesses who remember more now than they did the day after the girl disappeared.

"None of the witnesses in the original police reports saw Holly Ann Hughes in his car," said Duane Felton, Rand's attorney. "Now, 20 years later, we have a couple of people claiming they saw Holly Ann in his car."

Re: Holly Ann Hughes

I just watched the documentary "Cropsey" about the abductions and disappearances of children in Staten Island, and just had a couple of questions concerning this case.

1. If Rand supposedly targeted children with abnormalities, why target Holly Ann? Did she have abnormalities, or is she outside the MO?

2. What kind of a parent would send a seven year old girl out into the night at 9:30 PM for a bar of soap, and not give her enough money to make the purchase - when child abductions had occurred in the past?

Re: Holly Ann Hughes

Holly Ann Hughes was not developmentally disabled. Rand is alleged to have offered or provided money to the child requesting the child to go to a store to make a puchase. The "What kind of Mother..." comment disregards the fact that the mother did not send the child anywhere; That this was 1981where/when children commonly remained in front of thier homes until 9 or 10 PM in the hot summer when apartments of the nature that this family lived did not have air conditioning. "Adbuctions in the area" what abductions were your referring to? While rand likely abducted others, his actions did not recieve publicity until after this abduction and his arrest for the abduction of Jennifer Schweiger several miles away which occurred in 1987 (six years later). Behavioral actions of parents in securing thier children from abduction did not ecome a concrete issue nationwide until after this abduction.

Yet Holly's mother not only told her to leave the yard, but to go to the store that was two blocks away, at 9:30 at night. I don't know if the guy is guilty or not, but there's something fishy about the parent's. Fact from: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hughes_holly.html

Re: Holly Ann Hughes

Retired detective Frank Marchionne testified that Rand admitted a day after the disappearance that he spoke to Holly just before she vanished. "He said he had a conversation with a little girl in the street about 8 or 9 p.m.... He said, 'I sent her to the grocery store to buy a bar of soap.' I said,'Why?' And he said, 'Because she was dirty.'"

I attended the trial, there was no testimony on the part of the family regarding sending Holly Ann to a store.

As for a "yard", the family had no yard. It is a multifamily apartment building, The apartment was not air conditioned and the incident occurred on a hot summer night. At the time of this incident it was very common for children to stay out in front of their residences until 9-10 pm.

You need to take note that Holly Ann Hughes was abducted in 1981. The other discussed abductions occurred in the years after the Hughes abduction. This was clearly the case which led to a change in thought about child supervison by parents on Staten Island and in may cases nationwide.